SkaleyAquatics - High tech practice tank

[SkaleyAquatics]

Hello all,

As fishkeeping is one of favorite hobbies and sometimes I cannot quit learning more about this hobby, I've decided to start a journal for my current and future journey to look back on, while also hoping I can provide lessons to others along the way. I have been keeping fish for roughly 15 years now but could not keep plants alive for the life of me. Up until last year when I made a decent effort to have a low tech planted aquarium, that I restarted that tank to take on this project. This tank has been setup for 3 months now but has undergone many changes and will continue to do so.  

Tank:

Standard 10 gallon (20in x 10in x 12in)

Light: 

Chihiros WRGB II 30

Filter:

Mattenfilter with aquatop 100 air pump

CO2:

2x 16oz paintball tank ( 1 in use, 1 for backup)

C02Art Pro-SE Dual stage regulator with solenoid

Co2 adapter for paintball tank

IO Diffuser

Heater:

Eheim Thermocontrol-E 50 watt

Substrate:

Seachem Flourite Black

Water:

100% RO water re-minerialized w/ CaSO4, MgS04 and K2CO3

Fertilizers:

APT Complete dosed 4x/week at 2ml per dose

Water Changes:

4 gallons/week

Plants:

Rotala H'ra

Rotala "Blood Red"

Bacopa Salzmannii 'Purple'

Ludwigia sp. 'Super Red'

Althernanthera Rosanervig 'Mini'

Micranthemum Tweediei 'Monte Carlo'

Lobelia Cardinalis

Crypt Undulatus 'Red'

Hydrophila Siamensis 53B

Bacopa Myrophylloides

Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides

Pogostemon Helferi Downoi

Inhabitants:

Pair of Fundulopanchex Gardneri 'Makurdi'

2x Amano Shrimp

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by SkaleyAquatics
Fixed Spelling, added missing plant species

[SkaleyAquatics]

Current Tank Parameter's:

CO2: On 1.5 hours before light

Lights: 6 Hour photoperiod no ramp up/ no ramp down, intensity at 60%

pH: 7.3 with a 1.2 drop to 6.1pH - 2 hours into Co2 being turned on

gH: 7

kH: 4, working to bring this down to 3

Ro water dosed to:

Ca 30ppm

Mg 10ppm

K 42ppm

Next steps:

Have been dealing with a thread/hair algae problem that I am still trying to Resolve 1st step was lights down to 60%, next step was lights down to 6 hours, now I have increased CO2. 

Also, I am in the works of setting up a raspberry pi to read the pH constantly, this data will be recorded and sent to a database to view from anywhere. I decided to go this route as I am only really home all day on Sunday and I want to see the changes in pH throughout various times of the day.

Need to actually hang the Chiros  Light above the tank. It is currently sitting on the glass lid. Just have to find to do this correctly. 

Current dislikes:

The Rotala H'ra, I really hate how it is not reaching the surface with straight stems. I have debated changing it out for something else. 

I also not in love with all the hues of red but for now I am going to keep the plant list for at least a month. The lobelia Cardinalis was just added this weekend and want to see how it changes before swapping plants in this aquarium.

 

[Patrick_G]

Wow, it looks great! I like all the different shades of red. What the plant to the right of the AR and in front of the H’ra? 

[SkaleyAquatics]

On 2/28/2022 at 3:38 PM, Patrick_G said:

Wow, it looks great! I like all the different shades of red. What the plant to the right of the AR and in front of the H’ra? 

That would be Crypt Undulatus 'Red' it has definitely become one of my favorites. I have it in a low tech tank and it's a different shade but still looks good. 

[Patrick_G]

On 2/28/2022 at 12:54 PM, SkaleyAquatics said:

That would be Crypt Undulatus 'Red' it has definitely become one of my favorites. I have it in a low tech tank and it's a different shade but still looks good. 

Great looking specimens! Did you start them from tissue culture? 

[SkaleyAquatics]

On 2/28/2022 at 3:59 PM, Patrick_G said:

Great looking specimens! Did you start them from tissue culture? 

No I did not just bare roots. I will update the plant species also since I forgot that one. 

[Colu]

Great looking tank 

[SkaleyAquatics]

On 2/28/2022 at 6:08 PM, Colu said:

Great looking tank 

Thanks, still very much work in progress though. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Well done @SkaleyAquatics. Excited to see where this journal goes!

[SkaleyAquatics]

On 2/28/2022 at 7:39 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

Well done @SkaleyAquatics. Excited to see where this journal goes!

Thank you! This is just me trying to learn a new skill that I can translate into a bigger tank 😅 

[Andy's Fish Den]

The tank looks good! I love the rotala h'ra I want to get some for my tank, haven't found any local and been afraid to have some shipped in being I live in northern Ohio and don't want it to freeze. 

[SkaleyAquatics]

On 3/1/2022 at 1:49 PM, Andy's Fish Den said:

The tank looks good! I love the rotala h'ra I want to get some for my tank, haven't found any local and been afraid to have some shipped in being I live in northern Ohio and don't want it to freeze. 

Thank you! The h'ra has been growing on me, if I can get it to grow straight instead of bending then I will be keeping it.

I actually live in N. Indiana, and got it shipped in December from California came in emersed form but in great shape.

[gjcarew]

That is by far the purple-est lobelia cardinalis I've ever seen!

[SkaleyAquatics]

On 3/2/2022 at 2:13 PM, gjcarew said:

That is by far the purple-est lobelia cardinalis I've ever seen!

I just got added on Saturday, if it stays that way I will not complain. I bought if from a place that was growing underwater but question how long it had been in that tank. 

Edited March 2, 2022 by SkaleyAquatics
Fixed grammar

[SkaleyAquatics]

It has just crossed my mind that a possible cause of my algae problem is the buildup from my filter. The aquarium has been setup for almost 4 months now and the mattenfilter has never been removed. I am currently pondering the idea of a Canister filter on this tank. 

 

 

If you look closely at the area above the plants you will see what looks like scratches but that however is actually thread algae growing. It also grows on the Monte carlo and on the sponge itself. I have been manually removing this weekly before water changes. 

Edited March 3, 2022 by SkaleyAquatics

[gjcarew]

I won't pretend to have expertise on mattenfilters but I clean the sponges on my pre-filters and and in my HOB's fairly regularly and they still seem to end up super dirty. I would bet it would be worthwhile to take it out and give it a squeeze at least.

I love canister filters. They are great for dispersing CO2, and they don't take up any space on the floor of a tank. Sure, I wouldn't want them in a fish room, but for just one or two tanks they are great.

[SkaleyAquatics]

On 3/3/2022 at 12:24 PM, gjcarew said:

I won't pretend to have expertise on mattenfilters but I clean the sponges on my pre-filters and and in my HOB's fairly regularly and they still seem to end up super dirty. I would bet it would be worthwhile to take it out and give it a squeeze at least.

I love canister filters. They are great for dispersing CO2, and they don't take up any space on the floor of a tank. Sure, I wouldn't want them in a fish room, but for just one or two tanks they are great.

I have been debating what to do all day. While I want to switch to a canister filter because it would make for a cleaner look and also provide me with more planting space, I also cannot decide if the cost is worth it. I have used them in the past but never on such a small tank. 

After doing some more investigating I believe I might have spirogyra algae, based on how it grows on the monte Carlo. Until this tank I really never had issues with algae, I had diatoms and GDA but those didn't bug me as they were not planted aquariums.  

[Mmiller2001]

Just saw your journal and looking forward to following your progress. 

Well done so far! I've found that quite a few Rotalas are creeping plants and do like to grow out more than up. One I have personal experience with and likes to grow straight up is Rotala Narrow Leaf Sp. Red. It's a deep shade of red and seems very robust. I would give it a try and see how it does.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Mmiller2001

[HH Morant]

On 3/3/2022 at 12:21 PM, SkaleyAquatics said:

After doing some more investigating I believe I might have spirogyra algae...  

This is Spyro Gyra:

 

[SkaleyAquatics]

On 3/4/2022 at 4:09 PM, HH Morant said:

This is Spyro Gyra:

 

How long have you been waiting for this?

On 3/4/2022 at 3:39 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

Just saw your journal and looking forward to following your progress. 

Well done so far! I've found that quite a few Rotalas are creeping plants and do like to grow out more than up. One I have personal experience with and likes to grow straight up is Rotala Narrow Leaf Sp. Red. It's a deep shade of red and seems very robust. I would give it a try and see how it does.

I will take that into consideration if the one I ordered doesn't pan out. I finally got around to hanging the light and it now sits 4-5 inches off the surface and have already noticed a positive result from the rotala. 

Now to take care of this algae problem... probably won't have any updates until after I finish treatment. 

[SkaleyAquatics]

While I told myself no more updates until after the algae was cleared it. Here we are again, I added 2 new plants 10 minutes ago. You also may notice some changes, I removed the Mattenfilter in favor of a canister filter, allowing for more planting space. Next will be lily pipes and co2 atomizer, along with finishing the raspberry pi pH monitor.

I wonder if the plant enthusiasts can figure the variants out? @gjcarew and @Mmiller2001

Edited March 7, 2022 by SkaleyAquatics

[Mmiller2001]

I can tell you I have no idea. He's the plant guy for sure. I thought I had Hygrophila Siamensis 53b and he pointed out it wasn't!

[gjcarew]

On 3/7/2022 at 3:16 PM, SkaleyAquatics said:

While I told myself no more updates until after the algae was cleared it. Here we are again, I added 2 new plants 10 minutes ago. You also may notice some changes, I removed the Mattenfilter in favor of a canister filter, allowing for more planting space. Next will be lily pipes and co2 atomizer, along with finishing the raspberry pi pH monitor.

I wonder if the plant enthusiasts can figure the variants out? @gjcarew and @Mmiller2001

Bacopa salzmanii "Purple" and Rotala rotundifolia "Blood Red." If I win, I think I deserve a prize of being sent some cuttings when they grow out 😋

[SkaleyAquatics]

On 3/7/2022 at 6:57 PM, gjcarew said:

Bacopa salzmanii "Purple" and Rotala rotundifolia "Blood Red." If I win, I think I deserve a prize of being sent some cuttings when they grow out 😋

Dang! you really are the plant guy. It was sold as "blood red sg" so we will see. Was not easy nor hard to find really. 

You are assuming I can even grow them? You are alot more confident in my ability then I am. Let's say that does happen then I think I can make that happen, I need to get more diligent about getting cuttings out there, such a waste to dispose of them in my opinion. 

[gjcarew]

I've seen it referred to as Bacopa salzmanii "Sg Purple" as well. I first saw these varieties in Xiaozhuang (Dennis) Wong's tanks, and he's based out of Singapore. I haven't heard that either are particularly difficult, I'm sure you'll have no trouble with them! He and Christel Kasselman are some of my favorite Instagram follows because they are always discovering and testing new aquarium plants!